Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that Square Enix had received acquisition offers from several interested parties. Following the news, the company quickly issued a statement shutting down the rumors. Bloomberg’s report cites finance news platform CTFN as its source. Allegedly two bankers familiar with the matter shared the news with the platform. However, those sources seem to be unreliable.
Square Enix’s official statement on the matter reads, “Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix. However, this report is not based on any announcement by SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. We do not consider selling off the company or any part of its businesses, nor have we received any offer from any third party to acquire the company or any part of its businesses.”
Senior Analyst at Niko Partners offered some insight into where this rumor may have come from. On Twitter, he posted that, “Just a note that game companies often have discussions about M&A. Doesn’t mean something is actually happening.”
This indicates that executives within companies like Square Enix may frequently humor these types of discussions. However, just because a conversation has been had doesn’t mean that either party will take any action.
Mat Piscatella of The NPD Group echoed Ahmad’s statement. “Just about every big publisher is continuously running evaluations on potential acquisitions, mergers or partnerships.”
CEO of Kantan Games, a Tokyo-based games industry consultancy, Dr. Serkan Toto, added that Square Enix’s stock price went into the lunch break at +13.80% at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He said that “yes, that’s a lot for such an already large company on a single day.”
